I have to admit to being a little slack in this module. Life just gets in the way. Time flies and before you know it I am days behind in the Challenge.
Before I started the challenge I had it all worked out. I was going to put other things on the back burner and focus my energy on this challenge. I really meant it too. The problem is that my mind is always looking at the other things I could be doing. Always looking for new and interesting things to focus on. It is no wonder that I am a Jack of all trades and master of non. I have tried meditating to slow my thinking down but I can never seem to find the time. Sometimes I just want to lounge on the sofa and watch tv.
Anyway, I have now completed Module 2. I am happy with where I am. I have done the bare minimum. I have followed the instructions and completed the tasks. I have done no more though.
Starting to understand why I have achieved what I have achieved this far in my life and not more.
Today confirms that I really don’t enjoy writing. I tried Ed, honest I did and maybe it’s because it is Friday and I am ready to relax and not work but mostly I think it is due to the fact that no matter how hard I try I just don’t find it enjoyable. Hoorah for outsourcing I say!
The video today was easy to watch. It was short and our task was to edit the writing completed yesterday. I completed the task but it would be fair to say that the finished article is not good! Perhaps I can look over it with fresh eyes tomorrow.
Today Ed talks about creating content for an article on your niche. Argh! I was dreading this part and had already decided that writing articles was something that I would outsource. I think I just like the idea of having someone work for me. Although I definitely know writing is not my forte.
I watched the videos with a lump in my throat. I really want to follow the Challenge lessons and do as I am told but how can I when I am listening with dread to Eds cute little excited face telling me how EASY it is?!
I shower, make a cup of tea and collect two cookies (yes, I am a cookie addict). I set my ten minute timer on my phone, go to Market Samurai to ‘Publish Content’ and get ready to write. I tap “start” on my timer and away I go.
I can hardly believe how quickly ten minutes goes! I am in full swing as my alarm sounds and I have to check that it isn’t my wake up alarm instead. Blimey, I have written something that resembles an article. Albeit a very dodgy looking article but hey its a start. I stop as requested by Ed for fear of the burn out that I experienced during last years challenge.
Dare I say it… I am looking forward to tomorrows lesson!
I was SO pumped after yesterdays lesson. I was ready to go go GO! So why do I feel that horrible stomach sinking feeling today? It isn’t as though the domain cost lots of money but it does feel a little similar. Did I choose well? I wonder if I should have picked my other niche that fit all the criteria?
Todays lesson was on finding WOW facts for your subject using Market Samurai and Twitter. I remember struggling with this in last years challenge. I do the search for content and I am underwhelmed with the results. Finding something to Oooh about never mind WOW at is a difficult task. I will not be beaten so I make a note of things I think may be helpful. I am still not sure.
I check Twitter out and again I am feeling uneasy about my choice of niche. I manage to make a short list on Twitter as requested. Maybe it is just a bad day and perhaps I should relax, eat cookies, watch tv and not STRESS!
Ok, I have a confession. I didn’t do much at all this past week. Well, not much ‘Challenge’ stuff anyway. In fact, nothing at all other than the catch up day that I needed once I finally sorted out my Market Samurai problem. I think I was feeling lazy. I also ‘had a life’. I had enjoyed module 1 but was ready for a break. The last time I attempted the challenge I think I tried too hard and burnt out so this time I intend to as much as I need to do. I know that may sound lazy or show a lack of drive or desire to succeed but I want to be realistic with this challenge and how it fits into my life.
Today I was excited and raring to go. Lesson 1 included how to find the right domain name using Market Samurai. Wow! So easy and luckily for me I had a 100% match with my niche keywords so domain name purchased and Hostgator account started.
The WordPress Direct task was also simple and I set up an account there too.
Ahhh, the past few days have been frustrating! It took 4 days to get Market Samurai back. In the end I had to remove the program, remove Adobe AIR and re-download them. Problem solved by yesterday afternoon.
I quickly checked my micro niche choices for the 5 factors. Only one had a full green line and I wasn’t even ‘that’ impressed by it but hey at least I have one and I am thankful after the delay I have had.
So now we are on the rest week. My plan from today is to continue searching for Niche keywords and go back over the videos. Hopefully I will find at least one more micro niche I am happy with to then look further into as per lesson 7. Looking at the commercial indicators using Google, Ebay, Amazon, e-stores, e-books and affiliates to see if anybody is actually making money within the micro niche market I pick.
Fingers crossed…
After my posting here yesterday I toddled off to Market Samurai only to find that I could not access areas I had been able to access! They had all shown up as paid version! I couldn’t complete my homework. 
Of course, I submitted a form to Market Samurai support people but was saddened to note that they will respond Monday to Friday! It was Saturday yesterday and now it is Sunday.
Todays lesson is a continuation of yesterdays SEOC lesson, a recap of what we covered and only furthered to increase my level of understanding. It made looking at our theme keywords and analyzing them using the 5 factors clearer. I am raring to go. I have my chart ready and can’t wait to see that all of my theme keywords have low competition (at least one full line of green) The suspense is killing me. Thank goodness for the week in between each module because it looks like I will have some serious catching up to do.
Today I have another team meeting. What a great idea to join a team!
It has been a busy day for me today. A ridiculously early start (for a Saturday) a train trip to Brisbane and a work conference, all day. I have to say it was a hard task to come home and start the video. With fingers crossed I clicked the link praying for an easy video. Oh joy! It was another easy to understand video.
Looking at the nature of competition. The amount of competition and the strength of competition using Market Samurai.
Now I remember this lesson from last year and I also remember getting flustered as I don’t think I had gotten to grips with the prior lesson so this time it all seemed more simple. I am determined not to get attached to any of my niche markets which did happen last time and I think it clouded the way I progressed through the course.
So now we go back to our niche choices on Market Samurai and for each keyword we use the SEOC function to further analyse to find the keywords with the lower amount of competition. Not to be competing against the ’Big Guns’.
The video today was easy to follow and yet again short…Yay! :) I am a big fan of the short video. I think it has to do with my very short attention span.
Theme and Category Keywords
Finding a theme keyword ie, Wedding planning books
and then finding category keywords ie, wedding budget plans, wedding planning guides, wedding planning checklists.
The task was to find 3 niches that meet “The Challenge’ criteria using Market Samurai. Having used Market Samurai last year I was at least fortunate enough to know how to use it. I was also familiar with the search criteria and how to navigate the site. Hoorah I say, as when I first found it last year I spent so much time trying to understand what it all meant, never mind navigating my way around selecting keywords. I think this year though it was much clearer, or maybe I just understand a little more now. Regardless, todays exercise was…dare I say it…fun?!
So far I have watched todays lesson 3 times. Not because it is day 3 but because I needed to.
Understanding the broad/phrase match paradox. Keyword traffic and competition.
I think I understand the lesson. Maybe. You have to understand that it was not long ago that I realised you could search Google using quotation marks either side of your keyword/s. I always wondered why I had so many results that didn’t match my exact keyword request. Now I know.
My knowledge from this lesson so far is:
When searching Google:
Broad competition – keywords may come in any order in search results - broad data = trout fishing
Specific competition - Keywords in same order in search results - phrase match data = ”trout fishing”
It has been a busy week or so. I have connected with a group of fellow ’Challengers’ for weekly meetups, realised the greatness of Skype and started on this journey.
Am I still excited? You bet I am!
